As The Great Brain Pulsates: A Brief Review Of The New Album From Isolated Gate (Ian Masters of Pale Saints and Tim Koch of Central Processing Unit)

The voice of Ian Masters, familiar and inviting from the years we spent poring over Pale Saints records, tethers us to the music of Isolated Gate. The electronic textures of Tim Koch, from Central Processing Unit, keep us locked in and we're soon entranced by what's unfolding here. Universe in Reverse, the new release from Isolated Gate (Ian Masters and Tim Koch), is boldly iconoclastic, yet oddly accessible.

"Confusion is Bliss" is catchy, a thumping ramble, while "As the Great Brain Pulsates" is textured and nuanced. These both benefit from a range of sounds, rhythms, and sleek figures under the vocal-lines. In that regard, the spacious "Mankind will Disappear" might be the best thing here. Positively rapturous in its serene detachment, the tune unfurls like some sci-fi parable's theme, with the clanging beats and keyboard chirps being as integral as the sparse vocals.

For all that's strangely approachable about the music of Isolated Gate, the epic "I Am the Window" stands as the center-piece of Universe in Reverse. A mix of drums, strings, washes of keyboards, and Masters' voice, the whole track is symphonic in approach and dramatic in intent. While lush in spots, the song transfixes by its unexpected detours, from a throbbing bass riff to a clutch of violins or cellos. While lots of this album finds a way to mix a kind of indie-pop with the experimental, this selection feels the closest to the work Ian Masters did with Warren Defever of His Name is Alive as ESP Summer.

Universe in Reverse succeeds through the deftness of touch that both Ian Masters and Tim Koch bring to the pieces here. Risks are taken, yes, but the players are drawing us in, inviting us into their sonic world. And in that sense, this record is a hypnotic delight from start to finish.

Universe in Reverse by Isolated Gate is out via Darla Records.